Meng Wanzhou returns to China and Canadians freed after US court reaches deal with Huawei CFO

Huawei Technologies Co executive Meng Wanzhou reached a deal with US prosecutors on September 24, 2021, paving the way for her immediate return to China and reportedly for the release from China of two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. The pair had been held on spying charges, and Spavor was serving an 11-year sentence. The deal effectively resolved a case that has kept Meng in legal limbo in Vancouver for nearly three years, and soured relations between Beijing, Washington and Ottawa. Meng did not plead guilty, but was freed after agreeing to a “statement of facts” about the US case against her under the deal that took the form of a deferred prosecution agreement that will be in effect until December 2022.